LANDOVER, Md. -- The Philadelphia Eagles' hopes for the No. 1 seed took a massive hit after Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders, a game that would have wrapped up the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Eagles (12-3) are still a win away from clinching the No. 2 seed in the conference, but Sunday's loss essentially ruined their chances at the top seed in the conference (the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings both won).
Even though the Eagles are a game out of the No. 1 seed to the Lions (13-2) and Vikings (13-2), they still can earn home-field advantage with two games to play. This scenario needs to happen for the Eagles to get the No. 1 seed:
- Eagles win out (vs. Dallas Cowboys, vs. New York Giants)
- Lions lose to San Francisco 49ers, Vikings lose to Green Bay Packers in Week 17
- Vikings beat Lions in Week 18
Under this scenario, the Eagles and Vikings would finish 14-3 while the Lions would finish 13-4. The Eagles would have the common opponents' tiebreaker over the Vikings since both teams would have the same conference record (9-3). The common opponent would be the Los Angeles Rams and Packers, whom the Eagles defeated and the Vikings didn't.
This would give the Eagles the tiebreaker over the Vikings for the No. 1 seed. Of course, the Eagles need the Lions to lose out the rest of the way. If the Lions beast the 49ers next week, the Eagles are eliminated from the race for the No. 1 seed.
Regardless of what happens next week, the Eagles win the NFC East with a win in their final two games or a Commanders loss. The No. 2 seed would come with that victory as well.
"It sucks. It is what it is. We wanna go out there and win a football game," said Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. "That's our mindset as a team. At the same time when we lose and we didn't do what we wanted to accomplish, we're not gonna panic."